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Sunday, July 29, 2012

Heroes of the Dark Country: The Ranger

Running Uz before my hiatus reminded me just how much I like the Swords & Wizardry White Box. It is far and away my favorite iteration of D&D. As such, I've been thinking about switching Nightwick Abbey to that system. This was actually what I was originally going to use, but the group in Knoxville was more familiar with Labyrinth Lord so I've been using that and the AEC ever since.

As a result, the Dark Country has a few AD&Disms that I would want to retain even if I switched over. These are mostly restricted to classes and monsters, both of which are fairly easy to convert over. Today I wanted to show my attempt to make a Ranger class for S&W. It's sort of a combination of the LotFP specialist and a Fighter.

RangerAlignment: All Rangers must be of the Lawful alignment.Prime Attributes: Strength 13+ (+5% XP bonus), Dexterity 13+ (+5% XP Bonus)Weapon/Armor Restrictions: Rangers can use all weapons and armor but cannot use their stealth abilities if wearing mail or plate armor.Rangers are Westerners that have learned the arts of surviving in the wilderness. In the Dark Country - and elsewhere - they use these arts to protect humankind from the horrors that lurk beyond the ken of the Law.Ranger Level Progression

XP

Level

HD

BAB

ST

0

1

1+1

+0

15

2,501

2

2

+0

14

5,001

3

3

+1

13

10,001

4

4

+2

12

20,001

5

5

+2

11

40,001

6

6

+3

10

80,001

7

7

+4

9

160,001

8

8

+5

8

320,001

9

9

+6

7

640,001

10

10

+7

6

Ranger Abilities: Rangers possess a number of abilities that enable them to survive in the wilderness. Their chance of success is determined by the roll of a d6 and consulting the chart below. If the ability has a 6 in 6 chance of success, roll 2d6; the ability fails only if both dice show 6s.Ranger Ability Progression

Level

Bushcraft

Climb

Outdoor Stealth

Sneak Attack

1

2 in 6

2 in 6

1 in 6

X1

2

2 in 6

2 in 6

1 in 6

X1

3

2 in 6

2 in 6

2 in 6

X1

4

3 in 6

3 in 6

2 in 6

X2

5

3 in 6

3 in 6

2 in 6

X2

6

3 in 6

3 in 6

3 in 6

X2

7

4 in 6

4 in 6

3 in 6

X3

8

4 in 6

4 in 6

3 in 6

X3

9

4 in 6

5 in 6

4 in 6

X3

10

5 in 6

6 in 6

4 in 6

X4

Bushcraft represents the Ranger’s ability to forage for food, build shelters, or find their way in the wilderness. If the Ranger is using this ability to hunt, a successful roll means they have found enough food to feed 1d6 individuals.Climb represents the Ranger’s ability to climb sheer surfaces.Outdoor Stealth represents the Ranger’s ability to conceal themselves in the wilderness. This does not apply to urban or dungeon environments.Sneak Attack is not based on a d6 chance. Instead, it is a multiplier applied to damage when the Ranger attacks an enemy that is not aware of him or her. Rangers only get this bonus against Neutral and Chaotic opponents that live in the wilds, such as beast-men, groans, and werewolves.Saving Throw: Rangers gain a +2 bonus to saving throws made against poison or death effects.